Review: The Black Keys - Turn Blue

The Black Keys, the band that brought us highly acclaimed albums like El Camino, Brothers, and more are back with this newest album titled, Turn Blue.

Needless to say, this album delivered what some fans wanted and others didn't. Like any musical group, they matured and adapted their sound. Although, sometimes that leads to poor albums and material the fans don't want. I don't think we can say that about this album.

The first track titled " Weight of Love" pulls you right in and lets you have a taste of the album. Just enough of a taste to keep you wanting more.

After seven minutes, The Black Keys introduce you to "In Time" which shows you everything they've got to offer. You hear sensational guitars, relaxing drum beats, that fun vocal style they never seize to provide, and a rhythm that makes you bob your head and tap your foot.

The title track creates more of a relaxing atmosphere to the album immediately. There's something about all the simplicity in the track that comes together as well as exuberant sounds to create this great track.

The next track was placed beautifully on the album. "Fever" comes elegantly off "Turn Blue", to produce a calm before the storm kind of effect. That being said, "Fever" is fun and energetic but still capturing that chill feel of the album.

The track, "Bullet in the Brain" delivers even more relaxation to the package and adds some old school feel to it as well. Then, out of no where picks up the tempo and puts a smile on any listeners face. 

"It's Up To You Now" feels like it jumped straight out of The Twilight Zone at the start. The song progresses and a few leads are belted out on guitar and any listener is left with their jaw open on the first listen. 

"Waiting On Words" was the only truly boring song on the album. It didn't have much to offer musically, except a catchy chorus. Otherwise it just feels like filler.

At this point listeners think the album is going downhill but it quickly picks up with "10 Lovers" which proves very fun throbs on the drum.

Needless to say this album is very impressive. It provides energetic rock rhythm pieces as well as relaxed songs that make me feel like I've teleported back in time to Woodstock. This album has not only diversity in track feeling but exciting guitar leads, hot drum beats, and strange spine tingling sounds. Well done The Black Keys you have exceed expectations.

9/10

Review: Otenki - The War Outside

Pop-rock group Otenki brings a bold new sound to the table with their most recent release “The War Outside”. Rock instrumental styles mixed with poppy vocals and electronic sampling proves to be an exciting and unique mix. The band is relatively up and coming even though they formed in '04, but they have a very mature sound and fit in the current mix of bands in this scene of music.

The popular thing today in music seems to be to mix many different genres together to form one sound and although some bands stick out more than others, Otenki brings a more balanced form of the technique. The touch of electronic sampling in a few of their songs keeps things interesting, but not overwhelming to the consistent pop-rock style. While some of the songs seem standard and catchy, others are more original and dancy, like “Ghosts” (my personal favorite off of the album). The band mixes these styles well and creates a sound that can appeal to people familiar with the genre as well as attract new listeners.

While most of the bands I listen to are of the hardcore/metal-core style, Otenki was a great refresher from the usual hardcore band. The version I had listened to had a few remixes and even a Spanish version of a song on the album that I thought were a bit of a buzz-kill. It broke up the flow of the album and kind of threw a curve-ball while listening. Not to be discouraged though, the rest of the album is great and these are mentioned as being extra tracks for fans of the band.

Overall Otenki brings a great new sound for anyone looking to catch on to something poppy but still original. “The War Outside” sets a good standard for bands looking to mix genres into one style as they keep things balanced and still maintain a fundamental sound underneath. This album was a lot of fun to jam out to and I thought the electronics kept it separated from just any old pop-rock band. Keep an eye out for Otenki and pick up “The War Outside” as soon as possible!

Rating: 9/10

-Nic